Turquoise
by Kneazlekit
Summary: Teddy Lupin thought he knew what awaited him at Hogwarts, but nothing could prepare him for the friendship of an illegitimate child of Oliver Wood, the prejudices against werewolves, among other more silvery-red things. teddy/victoire. punkrocker!victoire
1. Teddy is His Parent's Son

Title: **Turquoise**  
Genre: Harry Potter, Post-DH/Epilogue  
Main character: Teddy Remus Lupin  
Pairings: Teddy/Victoire, possible others  
Rating: PG14  
Summary: Teddy Lupin thought he knew what awaited him at Hogwarts, but nothing could prepare him for the friendship of an illegitimate child of Oliver Wood, the prejudices of other students against werewolves, and a certain silvery-red haired Veela girl... punkrocker!Victoire, half-werewolf!Teddy  
Notes: centerpoint of the Turquoise-'verse

**Chapter 1: Teddy is His Parent's Son**

--

Andromeda held the infant close, his crooning snore in her ear as the tears dried on her cheeks.

"Looks like it's just us, little one." She kissed Teddy's sleeping head.

--

Andromeda tugged sharply on Teddy's ear. "I will not stand for any more of your tricks and teasings, mister. This is your first time on the platform, at least _try_ to look simply excited, instead of so eager to set the first poor child you meet on _fire_."

Teddy scowled at his grandmother, "I'm not going to set anyone on fire," _Although that is an interesting idea, 'Drom…_ "I'm looking eager 'cause I can't wait to meet my fellow classmates and make loads of friends." _And all that goody-goody crap that you always adore hearing… I wish Harry was here. Stupid James._

Andromeda muttered something under her breath and let go of his ear, causing him to rub at it as well as change his hair change a few shades redder. She frowned and dragged her long fingers through his cropped short hair, "Do try to fit in. Those fancy colors won't do. Remember what I told you before?" She spoke more pleasantly then before but still with a scolding tone behind it all.

Teddy frowned and forced his hair back to a mousy brown color – the same he'd seen on his father in all the photos that his Godfather had showed him. He knew that it annoyed 'Drom that he had chosen to look like his father today, but she was always scolding him for changing his features to things too 'inhuman' she called it.

"Well go on. The train is all set to leave soon anyway, better get on before it does." 'Drom straightened but kept a hand twisted in his hair. Her face was lined with the strain of being a former Black, of raising a daughter, marrying her off, only to see that daughter murdered, and finally the newest lines were from her little grandson who she had been raising, in place of his two dead parents, since he was very small. Teddy's eyes (golden today) trailed over her briefly, wondering at her hard strength born from raising two generations of metamorphmagi.

Finally he grabbed the handle of his trunk and rolled it along behind him, not looking back at his grandmother until he heard her voice, strangely broken-sounding, "Have a good year, Ted. You will try to be good, won't you?"

Turning his head watching her for a moment, he gave her his typical grin along with a wave, "O'course, Grannie Andie!" A scowl grew across her lips as her face turned red. She did always hate him calling her that. "Love ya! Later!" He slipped onto the train before she could start yelling and strode down the hallways, eying the various compartments for some space to sit.

Maybe he should have gotten on the train earlier… now most of the compartments were fill to the brim of students, mostly older and larger then him.

_Larger… taller too… and lass baby fat on them…_ Ted noted to himself, as the beginnings of an idea came to him. Surely he could sit with the older years as long as they didn't know he was only a first year. _But… 'Drom did say no pranks on the train or I'll get thrown off…_ He frowned, brushing his currently mousy brown hair to the side as he turned the idea over in his mind.

"What she doesn't know won't kill her, heh." Ted muttered to himself with a smirk. He was the son of the famous wizard and witch, Lupin and Tonks. As he planned, he spied along the compartments, looking for a good number of older years to trick.

This was around the time he ran face first into another trunk.

"Bloody fucking hell!" Ted gripped his brow, wincing at the pain and probable bruising his clumsiness had caused yet again. _And no 'Drom to make the pain go away…_ He froze for a moment, suddenly missing his grandmother intensely.

"Hey, kid! You a'right, there? That's sure a mouth ya've got." Ted snapped his head up, staring at a boy with jet black hair and bright blue eyes. The boy's frame was void of the baby fat most first years had, but his height could allow for no other age assumption.

"…Yea, fine." He removed his hand and blinked to make sure his right eye still worked. Damn, _I'm going to have a shiner by the end of this, aren't I?_ Ted pondered, _I can't do much with injuries. Two boys with identical black eyes would be too noticeable and 'Drom would know it was me then if I was caught._

Ted straightened and reached for his trunk, but found that the black-haired boy was poking at it. "You don't need to do that, I've got it, thanks." Ted frowned.

The boy whipped his head around, "Ah, sorry. My name's Renald Wood, but call me Rennie. I'd bet you are prolly a first year same as me." He paused for a moment then pointed at Ted's head, "Your hair stopped changin' color. I suppose whatever hex was on it, has passed now."

Ted snorted, "M'name's Ted Lupin, but call me Teddy, if you please, and yea this is my first time on the train." After a moment, he added, "And my hair's not under a hex. I can look however I want to." He shrugged his shoulders, changing the color from grey to turquoise. It only occurred then to remember what 'Drom had said earlier about people not always liking metamorphmagi and that it might be best to stay looking 'normal' at least until he was sorted.

Wincing in remembrance, he turned slowly to see Rennie's face, worried it would one of disgust, but the blue-eyed boy was staring in an awestruck way. When Ted met his eyes, the boy grinned widely. "That's bloody awesome! I wish I could do something like that!" He said, face falling slightly.

Ted blinked and shrugged, changing his hair back to his father's shade of brown. "Do you know where a free compartment is? Dragging this thing around is awful annoying."

"Sure. Next car over. C'mon, Teddy Lupin." Rennie lifted up his own trunk and Ted was shocked to see it was larger then his, yet the short but lean boy could hold it up with one arm.

"Do you play Quidditch?" Ted blurted out before he could stop himself.

"Yep! My dad's real famous and whatnot. Mum's always saying he was the best thing since sliced bread!"

"He 'was'?"

"Well, see, mum and him never did get married and he left before I was born. So see, he doesn't really know 'bout me and mum said that's fine, 'cause she raised me just great anyway!" Rennie lugged his trunk, single-handedly, into the compartment that had been mentioned before.

Ted followed, dragging along his own trunk, wondering what sort of god of fate had decided to introduce him to this disturbingly odd boy.

Rennie's head popped back out of the compartment, calling for his new friend. "C'mon Teddy! I wanna see you do the hair thing again!"

Ted let the smile spread across his face. Maybe things would be alright. No. Of course things were going to be alright, he was Teddy Lupin, son of a professional Auror and a werewolf! "Hey Rennie, want to hear a cool story?"

--

"Teddy Remus Lupin!"

Ted gulped. This was it, his moment of glory or horror.

So far it seemed to be of glory, as his name had stirred up some whispers and stares.

Apparently people had actually read the new edition of _The Dark Ages: The-Boy-Who-Lived Vs. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named_ which had managed to mention his parents and him when talking about that battle against old Voldy and again in the Order of the Phoenix section.

He steeled himself and straightened his shoulders, checking his appearance in his mind so he continued to look like his father's son. He wanted to look like the son his parents would be proud of, the godson that his Godfather would be proud of, the grandson that his Gram 'Drom would be proud of.

He wanted them all to be proud of him.

…Even if he didn't feel like something to be proud of on the inside.

It was harder then he thought to control his hair, which had an awful habit of changing colors rapidly when he was nervous or upset. He hoped it wasn't too obvious that his hair was morphing through various shades of brown and barely managing to not be pink or turquoise.

The old ratty hat was lifted up by an incredibly old woman with half-mooned spectacles, a stern face, and deep green robes. "Mr. Lupin, take a seat, please." She smiled at him, "There's no reason to be nervous, your father was such a lovely student of mine." She added in a quieter tone, so the rest of the room wouldn't hear.

Ted felt his face burn red and he barely managed not to do the same with his hair. He plopped down on the wooden stool, feeling a little silly as the kindly steel-like crone of a woman placed the patched and worn hat upon his head.

Everything went quiet around him.

_Didn't Harry say something about the hat talking to him?_ He pondered.

"_Well that was rude of him to give away all my secrets, now wasn't it?_"

Ted nearly jumped out of his skin, but steeled himself to not move as the hat whispered into his ear. Unfortunately he'd lost control of his hair, which was now going through all the colors of the rainbow, but fortunately the hat blocked it from view.

"_Sneaky little thing, aren't you? Ah, cunning too._"

Remembering the song the hat had finished before the sorting had begun, Ted panicked. _I can't be in with the snakes! I'm the son of a Gryffindor and a Hufflepuff! They'll tear me apart!_

"_Oh but hm, you would do so well, my boy. Did you not listen to the rest of my wonderful song? Typical arrogance._"

Ted winced, _Harry'd kill me._

"_Your grandmother would be proud._"

_She… would?_

"_She was in Slytherin herself, you know._"

Ted's mind blanched on that idea. Then the well-worn photo he kept in his pocket of his parents pressed against his fingers. _I'm not a Slytherin._ He thought with sudden defiance. _I'm my parent's son. Not just 'Drom's._

The hat seemed to ponder this for a moment. "_If you say so. I suppose you'll be fine in_ GRYFFINDOR." The last word being yelled out to the masses, cheers went up at the table with red and gold banners.

Ted silently thanked the hat. The old woman tugged the hat off his head to flop on the next kid in line, but Ted was striding over to the table at where his father had sat, where his Godfather had sat, where his grandmother would have sat had she had the same courage he did.

When Rennie was sorted into Gryffindor as well, Ted patted the chair next to him.

The lean boy's grin looked like it could take over his face by now. "Guess we're partners in House, right?" Rennie grinned and hopped into the chair.

Ted gave him a small smile, "Guess so." Then they both dug into the feast.

He would make them all proud. He promised.

--

_Dear Harry,_

_Too bad you missed me at the platform, 'Drom was nearly impossible. How is James doing with his arm? I hope that cousin of mine thinks hard before downing any more strange potions within grabbing range. Oh and give my best wishes to Gin and the tiny bundle of love that is Lily._

_Hogwarts is bloody awesome, just like you said. I got sorted in to Gryffindor (That stupid hat did the same thing to me that it did to you, but instead of old Voldy's influence, it's dear Grannie 'Drom's). I do still wish you'd've let me have my father's awesome map, but I'm sure I can get into enough trouble without it. Just kidding (maybe). I've been trying to make you guys proud._

_Didn't you tell me once that Oliver Wood was the captain of your Quidditch team when you first were chosen for Seeker on the team? Well, apparently he has a son named Renald Wood, whom is now my best friend. If you ever write to Mr. Oliver Wood, do try to get me an autograph, and tell him his son would like to meet him one day._

_Anyway, Rennie and I have been in a ton of our classes together. He's in Gryffindor too and is on the Quidditch team (same as you!) as a keeper (I blame his non-existent father). Rennie's really strong and has been helping me get some muscle too! Next time you see me, I bet I'll have gotten just as strong as him._

_Rennie also loves when I do impressions. So far I've got Headmistress McGonagall down pat (didn't my dad and your father have her as a teacher? She must be bloody ANCIENT) along with Filch and a few of the others. I've been trying to keep my looks pretty much the same day-to-day so people recognize me, but everyone knows I'm a metamorphmagus now, so I've gone with my favorite—the turquoise hair and a blend of my dad and mum's faces. I haven't stuck with an eye color though, I'm thinking maybe gold-brown like dad's, or pink like mum's usual hair. The professors hate it though, McGoggles constantly has her eyes on me, making sure I'm not morphing in class, which I find odd, since she used to be the Transfiguration professor and all. Prof. Longbottom thinks it's funny, and lets me do impressions for him._

_Tell 'Drom I miss her steaks. Maybe she can send me one – the way I like it – bloody, because the House Elves (all freed of course, that'll make Auntie Herm happy, right?) don't really understand why I don't like the meat they cook. I don't really want to explain the whole 'son of a werewolf' thing to anyone though. That sort of talk always makes people think that I'll go crazy-beast on the full-moon too. A lot of people think that anyway, because it's apparently very common knowledge now that my dad was Remus Lupin, the Werewolf of the Order. I have to constantly remind people that it's been proven that the werewolf-transformation isn't genetic. It's kind of a hassle, and even more so when my own werewolf-ness sparks up and I get all wolfy in the head and craving meat. Don't worry, I've been taking my potions._

_At least Rennie understands and he helps me out on full moons. Though, once he tried to put a leash on me… which definitely miffed me. I'm not a bloody pet dog. I bet nobody ever tried to do that to Moony or Padfoot. I told him off for it once the moon was down, and he didn't try it again. Rennie does love to play fetch with my wolfy-minded self, which is mildly annoying. I miss running around with James and little Al when I'm all wolfy like that. There're no little cousins around to pat my head or give me tummy rubs on full moons._

_I miss you guys. Badly._

_-Teddy R. Lupin_

_P.S.- Remember to tell 'Drom to send me some steaks, and make sure she spells them to keep during the flight. Maybe have Gin send me some of her cookies, that is, if James and Al don't eat them all. I'm starving here._

--

Ted frowned at the lowering sun. "You know, I've never seen a full moon in my right mind." He muttered, mainly to himself, but Rennie heard and patted his head.

"I bet they'll find a potion soon enough so you can."

"Maybe," He smiled thinly, "They're more concerned with the real werewolves though, not little half-werewolf kids."

Rennie leaned back in his chair, putting his arms behind his head. They were in the Room of Requirement which Ted's Godfather had told him all about and told him it would be good for these sorts of days. "Shouldn't they worry 'bout all the werewolf-affected? It's not fair."

Ted shook his head, glancing again at the nearly set sun, "I suppose it's better that they cure all the real werewolves… so no one has to get bitten or anything."

They were silent until the moon was peeking over the horizon.

Ted felt the edges of his mind pulling back, something dark pushing its way to the front of his brain. A bubbling fizzle overcame him for a moment as the potions he took before full moons kicked in; it shoved at the darkness in his mind, taming it to a manageable degree.

Even tamed, the darkness made him wince as it tore its way to the front and began to settle across his body.

Rennie was watching him carefully, as the boy always did, but now Ted was only watching too. His body, while still human on the outside, was being taken over by a very wolfy mind. Anything human about his thoughts was roughly shoved into the back of his mind. He was little more then a barely tamed wolf now.

His tongue rolled out, eyes growing less focused, even his muscles seemed to pull and shape themselves in a different way then when they were being controlled by his human mind.

Rennie grinned, "Are you going to be a good wolfy today, Ted?"

Wolf-Ted tilted his head to the side, tongue panting and body twitching oddly. "Yep yep yep yepyepyepyep!" He chanted with a pant. Somewhere in the back of his mind, the human part was disturbed at the wolf being able to take some of his words. "Ball? Ballballball!"

The black-haired boy leaned forward in his chair, producing a bright red rubber ball from his pocket. "You want it?"

"YESYESYES!" was Wolf-Ted's answer, knocking over his chair and prancing about on his hands and knees. His metamorphmagus powers caught up with him at this moment and his turquoise hair grew shaggy, his frame leaner, and his eyes turned a brilliant gold.

"Well then," Rennie tossed the ball in his hand teasingly before launching it down the long hallway created by the Room, "Go FETCH!"

Ted's human mind settled itself in for the night as the Wolf-mind caused him to scramble after the bright red blur.

--

Wolf-Ted was finally exhausted out from chasing balls up and down the hallway. Rennie stroked the shaggy blue-green hair that littered the boy's head as he sprawled out half on Ren's lap. The wolfy boy panted slowly, his tongue rolling in and out of his mouth.

The human part of Ted's mind felt sedated under the pressure of the wolf's cheerful exhaustion.

Rennie tugged on one of Ted's ears that had decided to grow slightly floppy under the control of the wolf. "You know, if ya ever do get a cure for this, I'll sure miss it." He scritched just behind Ted's ear and Wolf-Ted grinned in a silly fashion, leaning into the careless.

Wolf-Ted didn't respond to the words, but Rennie hadn't thought he was going to:  
Ted always lost his ability to speak after the first hour of the full moon.

--

Rennie eyed the room as it grew silent. Ted frowned next to him. Ever that bloody Slytherin, Justine Hornby, had walked in on Ted during one of his moonlight, wolf-mind shift, people had avoided him like the plague.

People had managed to get over that he was a metamorphmagus, especially after he had managed to make a huge joke about it. Rennie had been the one to suggest wearing the huge name tag when he walked around. At the Great Hall he had staged a play featuring only himself as he acted out all the characters, changing to fit each one. Everyone had loved the kissing scene where he took turns being the boy and the girl as he pretended to make out with himself.

That had taken much planning and in the end, people had accepted his changing and his humor. For this though… he had no plan. There was little to joke about when he was up against hundreds of years of fear and prejudice against the "evil monster" werewolves.

Rennie put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it, reminding his friend that at least he wasn't going to leave just because of his parents' genes.

Ted sighed. He had no plan this time. He wasn't any good at improvisation.

The two boys walked down the aisle between the four tables, each table made up of mostly one house but now littered with a few people from each other house as well. The houses had begun to weave together more in the years since the Battle, but this was only the start.

Regardless of the fact Ted had never sat at any of the other tables, people still moved to block him from sitting next to them. Even the Hufflepuff table, known for their kindness and approval for the mixing of houses, was a flying mass of elbows as they blocked him from their seats. Even Harriet Diggory, younger sister of the late Cedric Diggory, named after his Godfather Harry, glared at him.

The Gryffindor table watched in end silence as he neared them.

Ted paused in front of the table, as they eyed him, some glaring, some hiding their faces in fear of the monster that wasn't in him. Only a girl in their own year Alberta Cresswell's eyes held any kindness in them, but even that was nearly eclipsed by the fear in her.

Rennie didn't catch that Ted had stopped and was a few feet away before he paused and turned to wait, eyes bright with confusion and loyalty. Ted couldn't look into those blue eyes, which he knew would never stop being friends with him out of loyalty, but still couldn't help catching the fear that spread through the Hall like wildfire.

The Gryffindor table watched Ted curl his hands into fists and stomp off.

--

Ted's hair had turned a deep oceanic blue and he hugged his knees to his chest as he sat alone in the corner of the bathroom. This bathroom had been closed off to students because it belonged to that Myrtle ghost. Rita Skeeter had interviewed Moaning Myrtle to get the scoop on Harry's life after the Battle, but Myrtle had proven such a source for gossip that Rita still interviewed the ghost girl now and then for a column she called "Hogwarts Hobbies" in the _Daily Prophet_. Only Rita's daughter, Miranda Skeeter, had ever braved into the bathroom to talk to Myrtle, and had found out even she wasn't safe from her mother's love of gossip. Everyone had been terrified to use the bathroom from then on, knowing that Myrtle could swoop in at any moment.

Ted didn't care. Myrtle barely spent her time in the bathroom anymore, too busy catching random gossip from all the teens of Hogwarts. Best of all, no one would think to find him here.

He sunk into himself, jamming his knees into his eye sockets and gripping his legs so hard hew knew would have little finger-shaped bruises later.

No one would find him here.

Not for the first time, Ted wished he had someone like Albus Dumbledore to help him like the late Headmaster had helped his father. McGonagall made a good Headmistress, but she was being overwhelmed more and more as people turned to Hogwarts to heal the damage done by the War.

He heard the door creak open, "Teddy? You in here?" Rennie's voice echoed slightly on the tiled walls.

--

Frank Ogden wanted to exterminate every inch of Teddy's existence from the dorm room they shared with Olive Lark and Rennie.

Rennie rarely yelled, but even he nearly exploded when he heard.

Olive Lark's eyes were still fearful of the part-werewolf, but he refused to kick anyone out of the room. He finally managed to calm Frank with his agreement to switch beds with the other boy, so Ted and Frank would be on opposite sides of the room.

Now Rennie slept in the bed next to Teddy's and Olive's was next to Frank's.

Ted later thanked Olive later with a note he attached to a novel on the other boy's bed. The book was one he had seen his dormmate reading in the library when he had finished all his classwork, so Ted had figured it would make a decent gift for the boy.

Olive managed a guarded smile for the book and a polite "You're welcome" to the part-werewolf, but Ted knew he had done well with the gift when he saw that his dormmate barely ever put the novel down for the next few weeks.


	2. Victoire is a Punk Rocker

Title: **Turquoise**  
Genre: Harry Potter, Post-DH/Epilogue  
Main character: Teddy Remus Lupin  
Pairings: Teddy/Victoire, possible others  
Rating: PG14  
Summary: Teddy Lupin thought he knew what awaited him at Hogwarts, but nothing could prepare him for the friendship of an illegitimate child of Oliver Wood, the prejudices of other students against werewolves, and a certain silvery-red haired Veela girl... punkrocker!Victoire, half-werewolf!Teddy  
Notes: centerpoint of the Turquoise-'verse

**Chapter 2: Victoire is a Punk Rocker**

Someone had magicked the Sorting Hat. All the teachers were eying the students with raised brows and evil glares. Even Professor Longbottom had managed to look displeased with the situation, although the twist of his lips still gave him away every time the Hat yelled out "GRYFFINDORK!" or "HUFFLEPUNK!"

It seemed that whomever had magicked the Hat hadn't managed to think of a rude name for the Slytherin or the Ravenclaw houses. Those two houses looked absolutely cracked with laughter, while some of the Gryffin"dork"s and Huffle"punk"s were getting red in the face from anger.

One of the first years, Abellona Thomas, had burst into hysterical laughter when the hat sorted her into "GRYFFINDORK" and was laughing too hard to make it to the table. Olive ended up walking her over, and sat her next to Frank, who looked furious.

Ted thought the whole thing was hilarious. Rennie didn't think so. He didn't really like name-calling, especially after people had found out about his father and started calling him a "bastard child of Quidditch". In the end, Ted attempted to hold in his laughter for his friend's sake, but it wasn't working so well, and Prof. Longbottom's quirking with silent laughter wasn't helping.

The Hat itself seemed to not even notice the slightest thing different as it sat upon all the nervously giggling first years.

Finally the very last name was called, "Victoire Weasley!"

Teddy's head snapped up from where it had been resting after his fit of laughter had finally been released. "Weasley? Oh yea, Aunt Herm did mention a cousin I was supposed to watch over this year…" He murmured aloud but mostly to himself.

Rennie's head whipped around, "She's your cousin?" His blue eyes were wide when they met Teddy's (currently green) eyes.

Metamorphmagus eyes blinked, "Oh, no, not really." He looked thoughtful for a moment, "Well I suppose the Weasley's are like… far cousins. But then, all pureblood families are like that. My mum's a cousin of my dad's friend, Sirius Black, who's partly related to the Weasley's…" Ted trailed off realizing that Rennie wasn't paying attention.

"It'd be a pity if she's your cousin." The boy was staring across the floor at the stool that contained for the moment, both a girl and a hat.

Ted raised a brow, "I haven't a clue what you're going on 'bout, Ren."

The answer was slow in reply, "She's much too pretty."

"Are you saying I'm too ugly to be her cousin?" Ted's hair turned an awkward shade of blue, utterly confused by the idea. He could look however he wanted, how could he be ugly?

"Ponce." Renald laughed teasingly, "Nah, it's just…Blimey. Just bloody look at her."

Ted rolled his eyes and prodded the tabletop as his stomach growled, "Well maybe if you stop staring at her, the Hat will decide and we can have our feas-"

"GRYFFINDORK!"

The werepup's head snapped around to the Sorting Hat, "She's in our House?"

"O'course, you stupid berk: she's a Weasley." Rennie lifted his arm to wave over the new addition. Ted grabbed his friend's arm and dragged it down. "Oy! What gives?"

Ted watched the pale girl sway towards the table, eying it for a seat. Her hair was a pale red with silvery hues that gave it an unearthly beauty. A sprinkling of freckles upon her nose stood out like stars against her perfectly pale skin. She was quite beautiful and several groups of eyes followed her graceful steps.

The currently turquoise-headed boy gave his friend a look, "I said watch out for her, not throw her to the dogs." He muttered sternly. "Remember, I'm not the most popular person at the moment." His voice trailed off at the last bit, softer in remembrance of the earlier scene on the train when three students had refused to sit any where near the "half-breed werewolf mutt" and it had nearly turned into a fight when Rennie stepped in trying to argue on Teddy's behalf.

Ren stiffened for a mere second then relaxed and slipped his arm away from Ted's grip. Victoire seemed to have deemed a few of the other first years fit to sit with and she had begun chatting with Abellona Thomas, who responded hesitantly that she preferred to be called Abby.

"See, no harm, no foul." Ted shrugged, then let his shoulders slump as he watched Headmistress McGonagall wander up to give the first day speech. "I can keep my promise to watch her, without bothering her too much." He said, an undertone of wistfulness leaking through and coloring his words, as much as he'd deny it.

Renald sighed, reaching over to grip Ted's shoulder in a comforting squeeze. Rennie wasn't too good with words, instead he used his actions to say what he couldn't with speech. This, along with many other things, was why Ted liked being friends with the boy. While he was very good with words himself, his mind found actions easier to understand then speech, and he often caught meaning in the small gestures that said more then words ever could.

"Thanks, Ren." Ted muttered, watching a small smile light up Rennie's face, before the two of them dug into the first of many feasts that year.

--

"What are you two doing?"

Ted froze and felt Rennie stiffened next to him.

"You're supposed to be in bed, young men."

Ted frantically pointed his wand at the parchment in front of him, "_Mischief managed_." He whispered tapping his wand on the sheet, which drained of ink until it was simply blank.

"What are you doing? Come now, give it here, Mr. Lupin, Mr. Wood." Headmistress McGonagall reached out and snatched the now (thankfully) blank parchment. From behind half moon spectacles she studied the sheet for a moment, before turning it over.

Ted and Renald stood frozen to the spot they'd been found, turning the corner and about to sneak into the kitchens for a late night snack.

When McGonagall finally looked back at them, her eyes were cast with a certain amount of humor, which confused the two boys. "You know, Mr. Lupin, your father and his friends were always caught out of bed with a blank sheet of parchment as well. I would dare say the same sheet each time, and it looks very similar to this sheet you've got as well." She ran her fingers along the edges of the sheet, almost fondly. "No matter what I did, the parchment never did show me anything special about itself, and I eventually gave it to Filch." Now her eyes sharpened, "Did you steal this from his office, Mr. Lupin?" Her eyes darted to Renald as well not content with leaving the other boy out of her questioning, "Mr. Wood? Do not lie to me."

Ted blinked, Harry had never said anything about Filch. "No, Professor." He said solemnly. Ted had found James playing with the Map when he had been packing for Hogwarts. Hopefully Harry hadn't figured out that James had stolen it from his desk, and that Ted had taken it from the little boy.

"Mr. Wood?"

Rennie's eyes were huge, "No ma'am, we didn't nick it from nowhere."

"Anywhere. You didn't nick it from anywhere." She corrected him, absentmindedly as she studied the sheet of parchment once again, her eyes fond of its rough edges.

"That's what I said." Rennie gave a small flickering grin, which died when McGonagall rounded back on them. "It's just a bit of parchment, ma'am." He squeaked.

"I'd better not catch you two up again. Especially not with any mysterious blank parchment," She stared then down with piercing eyes. When they attempted to shrink into themselves to avoid her gaze, she sighed and shoved the parchment back into their hands. "Keep it, Mr. Lupin. After all, it was your father's," her voice was gentle as Ted folded the parchment back up along worn lines and stuffed it in his pocket. Then her eyes grew cold again, "But don't let me catch you with it again. Ten points from Gryffindor for each of you. Now off to bed." She made a shooing gesture.

Teddy and Rennie didn't take a second shooing. They were off, walking as fast as they could away from the stern old croon. But before they were out of earshot, they heard her mutter a fond, "Goodnight Mr. Lupin, Mr. Wood."

Back in the common room, the boys deemed it safe to talk, "Headmistress McGoogles sure is a sneaky witch. We didn't hear her until he was right up on us, like a cat." Rennie frowned thoughtfully.

"I heard her Animagus form is a cat." Ted sank into one of the chairs away from the small group of fourth years studying by the fire.

Rennie sighed and flopped back on the couch across from Ted's chair. "An' I'm still hungry too." He mourned the lost of his midnight snack.

Ted looked thoughtful and was eying the Map with a careful look. "We've got to be more careful, watching who is watching the hallways next time."

"Next time?"

An oddly sneaky smile played over Ted's lips, "She didn't ever say we couldn't. Just that we shouldn't let her _catch_ us."

"You're a bloody genius." Rennie grinned at Ted from his place upside down on the couch.

"Takes one to know one." Ted muttered with a teasing smile.

This earned a brilliant grin from the dark-haired boy.

--

Ted noted the sheer number of people who took time out of their meals to stare blankly at his 'cousin'.

Maybe it had been a bad thing, Ted frowned at him after the first week, for Aunt Herm to mention the act of protecting anyone. It was true that he definitely wasn't as affected by his instincts as a real werewolf, but the wolf tendencies still snuck under his reason at times and overcame his logic.

Somewhere in his wolfish mind, it had decided that 'watching over' meant 'guarding' which meant that the guarded person was 'pack'. It didn't help that he had unconsciously referred to her as family even when she wasn't.

Rennie hadn't said much about it, but he had noticed Ted's eyes constantly tracking Victoire whenever she was in range. He had given Ted an odd look for using the Map to make sure she was safe in bed each night.

It was when Rennie had caught Ted growling under her breath a few days away from the full moon, as he glared off the eyes that always followed Victoire that Rennie finally told him off.

"You're not her keeper, Teddy, leave her alone for a bit and you'll see, she'll be fine." He studied Ted's eyes carefully before releasing the collar of his shirt and backing off. At once, the short boy returned to his more cheerful nature, "C'mon, let's get some pudding b'fore it's all gone."

Ted still watched her during meals, but Rennie had been pleased when he stopped watching her on the Map.

Rennie knew when to tug the wolf in Ted back in line. Ted was glad of this.

--

Ted had actually not been watching that day, but now he was.

Victoire stood on top of her bench, earning a few startled looks from her friend, the more timid Abby, sitting next to her.

Her silvery red hair was pulled back in a loose braid, allowing her to show off her ears, which were like pin cushions with all the piercings covering them. She was wearing a black choker that had a padlock on it and her uniform was littered with pins and patches that claimed various bands as well as amusing sayings. One or two had begun flashing wildly as she cleared her throat and waited for a moment where she'd be heard.

"HEY!"

Everyone who hadn't been staring now was. She paused for a moment, a deep red flush coloring her cheeks and hiding her pale freckles. Regardless of the blush, she scowled grimly and nodded to herself before continuing.

"I know a ton of you seem to enjoy staring at me-"

A muttering rose because of this and she waited for it to die. A few of the more popular girls were all out glaring at Victoire now, like green monsters in waiting to pounce.

"But you know, I'm getting ree_eally_ sick of it. If I find another love note slipped onto my desk before the end of the week, someone is going to get their arse kicked up their throat." She narrowed her eyes and glared around the room, "I suppose you should have figured it out by now, but apparently you guys are stupid enough to think you're in 'love'" she used air quotes on the word, rolling her eyes all the while, "with me or something poncy like that." She looked about ready to smack someone as she glared. "I'm part Veela, you bloody wankers. You're not in bloody love, you're just stupid enough to fall for a magical creature's old way of luring in its live prey." She grinned at the last word, and it looked, for a moment, like her teeth were just sharp enough to still hunt live prey. "So shut the bloody hell up, leave me alone, or I'll have to smack a bitch." With that she plopped down in her chair and shoved a bread roll into her mouth.

--And then the Hall erupted into chatter.

Rennie turned to Ted with a wide-eyed look, "I hope she doesn't smack me." He said solemnly.

Ted couldn't help but burst out laughing. Rennie blinked, confused but soon was laughing along with his friend, the part werewolf's rare laughter being contagious like that.

When Ted finally recovered enough to look, Victoire was watching him with a curious look scribbled across her face. He hadn't noticed until that moment how gorgeous her eyes were. They were a deep silvery blue, and reminded him of the deep ocean in the midst of a storm but also of the darker patches of the sky where you could the fainter stars. She gave him a fond smile and turned away.

He blinked, utterly confused. Hadn't she just said that she hated people watching her?

--

"Ren?" Ted's voice cracked, filled suddenly with absolute terror.

"Yea, Teddy?" Curious blue eyes turned to watch his friend frozen in the midst of his usual pacing before the moonrise.

Wide yellow eyes connected with blue, enough fear held in them to cause Rennie to flinch. "Rennie, you've got to get out of here."

Rennie knit his dark brows together, "Why's that?"

Ted was staring at the window, running his hands through his hair in panic. After a moment, he let his hands drop and in a small voice, he answered, "I… I didn't take my potion." He turned to face the black-haired boy, his eyes pleading him to understand. In a shaky voice, he continued, "You can't stay here, Rennie."

The bastard child of Oliver Wood paused, letting his face fall into one of confusion, "But--"

"Renald. You've got to leave." Ted's voice was cold now, his face hidden from his friend as he faced the window. His hands were clasped behind him, giving away his emotion by shaking slightly as he spoke.

Ren stared at the shaking hands. "I'm not goin' anywhere." Ted whipped around, to speak, but Rennie continued over him, "I'm your friend, I'm not leaving you to beat yourself up just 'cause you forgot the bloody potion."

Ted's hands were in shaky fists now, "Ren… you have to leave. It's not safe for you. You don't understand," He paused running a shaky hand over his face, "It's not just me I beat up." He said in a small voice, "I wouldn't be able to keep myself from hurting you too…"

Blue eyes narrowed, "I know that, Ted! But I can protect myself. I remember what you said b'fore. I know that it's gonna be--"

Ted whirled on him, "Rennie. Leave NOW."

His mouth snapped shut, eyes still filled with fury at his helplessness at the situation, but Renald knew he would be better off leaving Teddy to his wolf, then dealing with Ted's guilt at trying to hurt him later.

This was one of the times Rennie wouldn't be able to help Teddy control the wolf.

Renald Wood whipped around and strode to the door, throwing it open as a way to show he wasn't happy at all about this. Glancing back one last time at a Ted, that was turned away but still shaking, Ren muttered to himself and turned to leave.

"Wood?" A silvery red haired girl stared at Rennie. "What are you--"

"REN. GET OUT."

"Ted? Ted Lupin?"

"Shit, Miss Weas'ey, we've gotta move. S'lmost time." Rennie moved to wrap an arm around her waist and pull her away.

"Too late." Victoire muttered, she grabbed Ren's arm and threw him to the side.

"Wha--" Rennie's eyes grew as large as plates when a turquoise mass suddenly crashed into the silvery red haired girl.

"Ted?" He squeaked, and the creature's face turned towards him. It still looked like Teddy, but his face had elongated partly into a muzzle. Random growths of fur (the same color as his hair, which was turquoise currently) covered his body, his ears had grown larger and longer, like a wolf's, and there was a small tail jutting out from his spine. The biggest change, Rennie found, was Ted's eyes. Normally mild colors and filled with a sort of inner amusement, but now his eyes were wild, changing colors as fast as they could into a swirling mass of confusion and instinct. "Teddy..?"

The wolf-creature, that had been Ted, growled low and guttural. As Rennie shifted backwards, the wolf moved forwards.

"Hey now, Teddy, no playing with the human."

Renald blinked as Victoire leaned up and clasped a tuff of turquoise fur, pulling wolf-Ted back to face her. Wolf-Ted growled at her, but the part-Veela growled right back.

Getting her feet under the wolf's belly, before he could react, she kicked the wolf-creature back into the Room of Requirement. Victoire jumped to her feet, flashing a grin at a very perplexed Rennie before bolting into the room, slamming the room behind.

Rennie stared at the locked room for a moment, than a muffled howl broke him out of his thoughts. "Bloody hell." He muttered.

--

_"Ted_dy_. Why won't you play with me?" Silver eyes and silver hair._

_"'Cause you're a girl. Girls have cooties."_

_Small lips pulled into a pout, "Do not!"_

_"Do too! 'Arry said so!"_

_Silvery laughter matched with silver hair, "Harry's got cooties then."_

_"Nuh-uh."_

_"Yea-huh, he's always kissy with Auntie Gin." Mirth danced behind silver eyes._

_"Ew!"_

_Silvery laughter._

Ted's eyes snapped open, but the laughter didn't dissolve like most dreams did. As the world slowly refocused around him, images from the previous night flooded and scrambled his mind. The last thing he could remember clearly was yelling for Rennie to leave…

"Rennie!" Ted jolted up, and nearly toppled over as his body found its voice in absolute protest. "Erg…" He groaned, moving more slowly this time as he lowered himself back to the floor. He felt like he'd been hit by the Hogwarts Express, then run over several more times by the Knight Bus.

"Don't move," The silvery voice commanded, hinting at a light humor that was quickly fading. A chilled cloth was laid upon his forehead. "You're only going to feel worse if you start freaking out."

He couldn't possibly keep his eyes open in the blinding light that had decided to pierce them, but he still tried, if only to see who is was that was speaking. "Ren?" His voice croaked.

"Your packmate's fine."

Somehow those words worked better to calm him then anything else the silvery voice could have possibly said. He felt his body unwind and relax under the echo of the words in his mind.

But his mind struggled under the calming effect, "Who're you?" his voice cracked as if he had been screaming too long and dried it out. More likely he had been howling all night. That thought managed to shake him back to a more alert mind. "Did I… do anything?"

The silvery voice seemed softer but also sad, "You didn't do anything. Just scared Mr. Wood some. He'll be fine, probably is waiting for us outside still."

Ted managed to open one eye, wincing at the light, but struggled to focus through it to see whomever he was talking to. "… You didn't answer my other question." He croaked, his voice fading some. He would probably lose his voice if he kept forcing its use, but right now he didn't care.

Finally his sight focused on a girl kneeling next to him, with silvery red hair and silver-blue eyes. "I was hoping you'd figure it out yourself, Teddy." She smiled at him, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Good to see you again." Her voice was soft, but tinted with sadness that kept any smile she showed him from reaching her eyes. Her silver hair was tangled and terribly knotted. She looked rumpled and had cuts all over her. She was as beautiful as ever, like a fallen, silver angel.

Ted blinked, both eyes struggling to focus on her, "Yea… you too, Victoire."

Her sad smile was the last thing he saw before the darkness swallowed him up again, leaving him alone with memories of silvery laughter from years before.


	3. Teddy Has Blue Fur

Title: **Turquoise**  
Genre: Harry Potter, Post-DH/Epilogue  
Main character: Teddy Remus Lupin  
Pairings: Teddy/Victoire, possible others  
Rating: PG14  
Summary: Teddy Lupin thought he knew what awaited him at Hogwarts, but nothing could prepare him for the friendship of an illegitimate child of Oliver Wood, the prejudices of other students against werewolves, and a certain silvery-red haired Veela girl... punkrocker!Victoire, half-werewolf!Teddy  
Notes: centerpoint of the Turquoise-'verse

**Chapter 3: Teddy Has Blue Fur**

"What do you mean?" Ted demanded, his eyes wild with fear.

"I mean that the potions you've been taking until now will not continue to work."

Ted's gaze slid to the ground. This couldn't be happening. Not now.

"It seems that your lack of responsibly when it comes to taking your potions—"

"I've never forgotten before! It was only once!" He ground out in his defense. He knew his hair was wildly changing colors, but he couldn't get himself to care. Everything was lost now.

Professor Slughorn's eyes were kind, but guarded, as he studied the young boy in front of him. "… Once was all it took."

Ted's eyes finally retracted from the floor and turned on the potions master. The eyes were changing colors as well, but no matter what color they were, they always held a golden tinge to them… an aftereffect of the werewolf blood that had managed to further infect the small boy.

"You chose the wrong time to forget. Puberty is a challenging time for any boy, but in werewolves, it is a time when the wolf begins to try to take them over. The wolf is struggling to be free and even though it is weakened in you, it still holds pull over your body… and mind." The professor swallowed and continued in a less sure voice, "It is possible that the wolf affected your mind to get you to forget the potion—" His voice went hard and sure again, "But that doesn't excuse you from your actions. I told you never to forget the potion. Now that you have allowed the wolf time to expand its control, any potion I make will have even less effect."

Professor Slughorn studied the twelve year-old boy's eyes as they widened with guilt and fear.

"It won't—"

"No," The potions master cut him off behind the boy could break, "The potion won't be able to control your transformations anymore. It may tame them somewhat, but never to the degree they have dampened before."

Ted went back to staring at the ground, his mind was whirling in confused and guilty circles of fear.

"Headmistress McGonagall has taken the time to contact your guardians—"

"Shit! 'Drom knows?" The part-werewolf was muttering under his breath, until he remembered the professor was still there and instantly apologized.

"It's fine." Professor Slughorn grunted. "Also, I believe your Grandmother and Mr. Potter will be coming in a moment to discuss with the Headmistress what will be done." He caught Ted's puzzled look and explained, "We can't have halfblood werewolves running around free during the full moon. You could hurt someone."

Ted's face sunk, and then was replaced by a blank expression, hiding his fears and pain. He hadn't realized until now that this was the sort of thing that had nearly gotten his father kicked out of Hogwarts and had later lost him his job as a professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, regardless of how wonderful a teacher he had been.

"Come. I'm supposed to bring you to them now." Slughorn commanded, a soft edge in his voice for the boy.

The part-werewolf followed the potions master as they walk silently through the hallways. Each was lost in his own thoughts.

All Ted could think of was how he had managed to fail his parents by a simple mistake.

--

"Who else knows about this?"

Ted shrunk in his seat. His grandmother's angry face filled his vision. "J-just a few…"

She pulled away, sputtering to herself, "This is what I get for letting my daughter marry a bloody werewolf! Stupid girl, went and got herself killed…" Andromeda trailed off, her steely hands suddenly dropping to her sides. She had a blank look on her face, but Ted knew better.

Slipping off his seat, he curled his arms around his grandmother's waist. "You're not going to lose me, don't worry, 'Drom." He muttered, using his nickname for her in hope to knock her out of her mood.

Wrinkled hands wrapped themselves around him and held him close, nearly desperate in the way she gripped his shirt.

His grandmother had always feared losing him, especially since, to her, he was the only one she had left. She had lost her family, her husband, her daughter, her son-in-law… to her it was only a matter of time before she lost Teddy too. No matter what Ted said, she always ended up falling back on this fear at the worst moments. He continued to mutter, even though it was only repetition. "I'm not going anywhere. You're not ever going to lose me." He buried his face in her dark robes, struggling to provide comfort even though he needed it just as much.

As usual, his words finally snapped her back into place and she grabbed his shoulders and jerked him back, "You'd better not leave." She threatened in a voice that was broken, before it suddenly hardened and she was back to being his crazy neat-freak of a grandmother again, "What in the world were you thinking, you idiot!"

Ted wound up back in the chair, as they waited for the Headmistress and his Godfather. 'Drom was still muttering to herself about how stupid Ted was, but he could tell she was really more upset that Harry was coming at all.

She wasn't just afraid that Ted would do something incredibly stupid and get killed, but also that one day he would run away to live with his Godfather's family. He had realized this when she had refused to let him stay at the Potter's for any holiday unless she was with him. She constantly would put herself between him and Harry, no matter how much Ted told her that he wouldn't leave her like that.

"Sorry, 'Drom," He said finally, holding his head up by his arms and hiding his face in his hands. "I didn't mean for this to happen… I just…" His voice faded under his guilt and the silence that had followed his words.

Then he felt a hand curl around his shoulders, holding him close. 'Drom was still refusing to look at him, but her gaze was soft as she watched the window. Her arm tightened around him, and he knew she could feel the tremble that ran through his small frame.

Her tone was harsh, but underneath it he could hear the soft kindness, "I know you didn't mean for anything to happen. Honestly, who would? But that doesn't change that it has happened." It was about as close to forgiving him as she would get. In a softer tone that he probably wasn't meant to hear, she added, "You'd never do anything to leave me…"

They held on to each other, both desperate to prove that neither was alone.

--

"You're stayin', right?" Rennie asked as he caught up with Ted in the hallway.

Ted gave him an odd look, "Well yea. They can't just kick me out. Hogwarts has already had a fullblood werewolf in its midst, so why's a halfblood any different?"

Rennie gripped his hands together, "Ah." The dark-haired boy wasn't looking at Ted. They walked together in silence for a moment before Rennie continued, "Sorry for telling the teachers on you. Didn't mean for you to get in trouble," he hung his head.

Ted laughed, patting his friend on the back. "No. You did the right thing. It's always good to know you have my back."

Rennie graced him with a bright smile.

It was then that Ted remembered Victoire's words. "Did Victoire say anything to you?" She was right, Rennie was a good packmate. 'Drom, Ted, and Rennie made up a small and broken pack in Ted's mind. They were all he had sometimes. The other parts of Ted's family made up a sort of "extended" pack, but his small, broken pack was always what came first.

"Nah, she left, once we got you to the healers."

"Well, I had to tell the Headmaster who knew about that night… and what I could remember…" Ted knit his brows together, "What did happen? I couldn't remember much." Flashes of the night before jumbled in Ted's mind: pain, howls, teeth, claws, and grasps of silver… His dream reminded him of something, "Victoire… what did she do? I can't remember."

"Miss Weasley… well she saved me, than threw you back in the room." Rennie looked thoughtful, "Well really she kicked you into the room, but she seemed to be havin' fun with the whole thing."

Ted just looked at him and Rennie frowned, "What?"

Shaking his head, Teddy just frowned right back, "I don't understand the female section of our species."

"_Our_ species?" Ren attempted to make a joke of it.

"Right. _Your_ species apparently…" Ted frowned, and Rennie paused.

"Sorry, Teddy. Didn't mean it _that_ way."

The part-werewolf shook his head, "Not anything to worry about, Rennie. I suppose I should go find Victoire… see if she's alright and thank her." His brows knit together, wondering at the idea of his 'cousin' kicking a half-werewolf then spending the whole night with him. Of what he remembered, she hadn't been hurt… "Ren, do you think I bit her?"

Rennie looked thoughtful, "Dun think so. She looked a bit scratched but not bit."

"But then…" Ted paused, "How did she manage the whole night with the wolf? I would have hurt you if you'd stayed… and she's just a girl."

His best friend looked puzzled. "Dunno. Ask her."

So Teddy Remus Lupin set out to do just that.

--

Unfortunately it was then that the seventh years finally broke the silent shunning of the halfblood werewolf.

Broke it with violence.

--

"I'll get 'em! I told 'em nobody messes with you and gets away with it! I'll beat the shite out of 'em." Rennie muttered angrily as he watched Madam Pomfrey dress Ted's bruises.

The old nurse had her lips pursed and opened her mouth to scold Ren's thinking, but Ted beat her to it.

"Ren, that won't solve a thing." He held his arm to his side as he waited for the potion to take effect and mend it. "We're only second years, they're seventh years. They'll just hurt you as well and then there won't be anyone to drag us to the healers."

Rennie had a deep scowl on his face, his blue eyes nearly blazing. He gave Ted a look for a moment, before his words startled Ted out of his thoughts, "Why didn't you fight back, Ted?"

Teddy ducked his head, and Madam Pomfrey gave him a strained look, obviously trying to make him feel better and hide her worry, but failing. She took care of his father when Remus went to Hogwarts. She knew why he couldn't fight. Instead of looking at either of them, he stared at the ground. "Ren… I can't fight anymore. I can't afford to get angry. I can't afford to be angry enough to hit someone." He looked up at Renald then, his gold flecked eyes matching the blazing blue of his friend, "If I do, I could kill them."

Ted watched his best friend as the boy struggled to find words to comfort, to understand, to do anything but sit and realize the full consequences of being half-werewolf.

The metamorphmagus let his gold flecked eyes drop to the floor, not wanting to see the struggle on his friend's face. "McGonagall told me that if I don't control myself, I'll…" His voice fell suddenly, "The wolf wants to get out. It's going to be trying for every outlet I let it. If I let my anger get a hold of me, then the wolf will have that too. I can't let that happen, Rennie. I can't let anyone but me control my life." The last sentence wavered but was more solid in sheer will then anything else he had said.

Ted nearly jumped when an awkwardly large hand fell on his shoulder. Gold flecked eyes jumped up and Rennie gave his friend a tight smile and squeezed his shoulder gently.

The half-werewolf slumped suddenly, aware that he had been worried over Renald's reaction all this time. As the relief flooded him, he felt his best friend squeeze his shoulder again, silently saying that he won't leave, not now, not ever, even though the going is about to get even more then tough.

It was mind-blowing to have such an astounding person as his friend.

--

Frank wouldn't have anything to do with Ted or Renald, but Olive gave them a small smile whenever they passed each other.

Teddy understood why Olive didn't want to hang out with them, even though Rennie didn't. Ted had seen the way Olive looked at a certain Ravenclaw, named Millicent Clark. Milly, as she was called, was best friends with Valya Krum, who was one of the most vocal Second Years when it came to Ted's inherited Lycanthropy.

Valya, along with a small group of mainly Ravenclaws and Slytherins, wanted Ted to be expelled from the school. Milly wasn't technically part of that group, but she still wouldn't want to go out with anyone closely allied with her best friend's 'enemy'.

Olive would walk Milly to class, even though it made him late for his own classes. Valya mostly ignored him, but Milly was beginning to show interest in him. Olive wasn't going to screw that up just to be friends with his part-werewolf dormmate.

Teddy understood, but that didn't mean he liked it.

--

By the time third year came around, Ted still hadn't been able to talk to Victoire about what happened. 'Drom and he had visited Harry and the rest of the Weasleys over the summer, but hadn't managed to talk to Victoire at all.

Ted avoided acknowledging Victoire in public for fear she would be targeted by the older years for bullying as well. It was bad enough Rennie had been dragged into it.

Rennie, of course, didn't mind, but that didn't mean that Ted didn't blame himself… or rather, his parents.

To be honest, Renald was worried more about Ted's reaction then the actual beatings themselves. His friend had proven that werewolves may look scrawny but could really take a punch. However, it was the quieting of Ted's already quiet nature that made Ren worry. The lack of pranks and sneaky ideas from his friend worried Rennie further.

He knew Teddy was very obsessive about his parents. If one brought them up, Ted would cheerfully chatter on, retelling stories from Harry, as well as the rest of the Order's various tales about the two people held most highly in Ted's eyes, whom the boy had barely ever met.

Ted seemed to gaze off more and more often these days and even the topic of his parents' adventurous tales couldn't cheer him. This wasn't like him at all.

Rennie walked into the Common Room one day, to find it empty except for his half-werewolf friend. This itself wasn't strange, as most people avoided the two of them now, even their dormmates avoided them, but something about Teddy's crumpled posture made Ren pause for a moment in the entryway.

Regardless, Ted's eyes, gray today, but still flecked with gold, turned themselves on Renald. The naked fear in those eyes is what finally broke the darker-haired boy's hesitation and moved him forward to rest a calming hand on his friend's shoulder.

A small voice filtered up through the still air of the room, "I just wanted to make them proud."

"I know. You will." Rennie squeezed the shoulder in his grip, even as the gold flecked eyes turned back to the empty fireplace.

"I… think I've failed them, Ren." The small voice trailed off, becoming softer in final defeat.

But Rennie wasn't Ted's parents… The lean-framed boy just squeezed his best friend's shoulder again, not knowing what to say to make everything better.

--

Halfway through third year, Victoire suddenly made another saving grace appearance.

She seemed to only turn up around full moons, Rennie reasoned, as Victoire once again yanked him out of her way and strode purposefully into the Room of Requirement. Ren vaguely wondered how she had found out they weren't using the Shrieking Shack like the Headmistress had told Ted to, but mostly he was worried what would happen. Once again, the silvery-red haired girl was locked in a room with a halfblood-werewolf.

But the room stilled all sounds from inside as the door clicked shut, leaving Ren to sit outside and wonder.

By the morning, she was gone.

--

Dominique, Victoire's little sister, had started at the beginning of Ted's third year. She had escaped the odd mix of Weasley red and Veela silver hair that gave Victoire her strawberry silver-blond hair. Dominique, instead, had managed to have sleek vibrant auburn hair with soft freckles on her shoulders and cheeks. She had her father's soft brown eyes and all in all was a very lovely child.

However, either Victoire's speech the year before had held out for her sibling, or Dominique had escaped inheriting the Veela lure that Victoire managed with threats of violence and a sharp tongue.

Still, Ted avoided being seen with Dominique. He had met her briefly during the summer when Bill and Fleur had decided to move back to London to be closer to the rest of the family and their children in Hogwarts. The youngest, Louis Delacour-Weasley, still had a year or two until he could come to school, but for now he went to a nearby Muggle middle school with George and Angelina's twins, Fred and Roxanne, along with Percy and Audrey's oldest, Molly.

The other kids were still in the Muggle elementary school, including Percy's youngest Lucy, and the three Potter children, James, Albus, and Lily, along with Ron and Hermione's two kids, Rose and Hugo.

True, there were Magical pre-schools for witches and wizards, but it was a new movement in the magical world to mix their culture with the Muggle world. …Or rather, it was a movement that the Potters and Weasleys had started when they bought TV for their homes. The press had a field day when Harry requested a satellite dish so they could get more channels. Rita Skeeter pulled off a few "Magic Muggles: Are the Potters Finally Going Insane?" columns before Hermione went about blackmailing the writer into silence once again.

Fortunately, Skeeter's columns had only sparked more interest in Muggle culture. Weasley Senior began selling his flying cars more and more as the average post-war sparked a rise in the wizarding population. Flying carpets were still banned from England, and brooms were horrid for traveling families. The Weasley Flying Cars were a huge success. Molly Weasley, however, still hated to see her husband out working on 'those ridiculous Muggle machines'.

Teddy's generation had grown into stealing from Muggle fads constantly and applying magic to them. Olive had a Magic-Approved Laptop which he used to connect to the Wizarding Net. Computers were still a hard thing to use in high concentrations of magic, Olive's constantly died on him, especially if someone used a spell too near it, but CD-players were easier to apply magic to and to guard the technology in it against outside magic. So ironically, while Muggles played with their mp3 players and tossed out their old CD-players, wizards picked up the CD-players and magic'ed them into musical awesomeness.

Peter Bast, a Muggleborn, had been the first to get catch in class with his magically-adapted CD-player (now commonly called a Wiz-player), but luckily for Hufflepuff, Professor Longbottom had been too interested in how the device worked to deduct points.

Rennie talked about getting one, until his mum, a Muggleborn herself, decided getting him something half Muggle and half wizard was good for his growth and Owled him one.

Teddy laughed at the look of joy on Ren's face when he tore into the odd package and found the Wiz-player.

The half-werewolf glanced down at Victoire's end of the table, something he had made a habit of, and was shocked to see her watching Rennie with an amused look on her face.

Her silver-blue eyes caught on his flecked gold ones for a moment before she snapped her head away. He watched her seem to force her gaze in the other direction, looking to the Hufflepuff table for her little sister.

--

_Hey Harry,_

_Why's everyone upset about Dominique being in Hufflepuff?_

_I mean, sure, there's the family tradition of 'All Weasleys in Gryffindor', but breaking family traditions isn't always bad._

_What would Sirius say? If he never broke that tradition, mum and I would have been expected to go into Slytherin the same as the rest of the Black bloodline._

_Don't be so hard on her. She's really a nice girl after all, Hufflepuff or not._

_I miss you guys._

_Don't worry about me. I'll be fine._

_-Teddy R. Lupin_


	4. Victoire is a Puzzle

Title: **Turquoise**  
Genre: Harry Potter, Post-DH/Epilogue  
Main character: Teddy Remus Lupin  
Pairings: Teddy/Victoire, possible others  
Rating: PG14  
Summary: Teddy Lupin thought he knew what awaited him at Hogwarts, but nothing could prepare him for the friendship of an illegitimate child of Oliver Wood, the prejudices of other students against werewolves, and a certain silvery-red haired Veela girl... punkrocker!Victoire, half-werewolf!Teddy  
Notes: centerpoint of the Turquoise-'verse

**Chapter 4: Victoire is a Puzzle**

"Teddy Lupin?"

Ted's head snapped around. He was very sure the Shack had been empty a moment ago, but now a silvery-red haired girl stood in the middle of the room.

"Victoire?" He stared at her, utterly bewildered. Why was it that she only showed up on full moons? Of course, she had never come to the Shrieking Shack before, and she had never turned up before the moon did.

She was looking at the ground now, the silver-fire of her hair spilled across her shoulders, drawing all attention to her lovely face when it turned towards him again. "I wanted to say thank you."

He realized his hair was probably frantically morphing by now and attempted to still it as he made a response, "Um, well you are very welcome, but for what? It seems that I should be thanking you for more."

She bit her lip. He noticed it was pierced on the side with a pewter ring. "Thank you for my sister. Uncle Harry told me it was your words that brought sense to the madness involving her Sorting."

Ted shifted his weight to his heels, relaxing slightly, "Oh, well no one has to thank me for that. You guys are pretty much family to me anyway."

"Pack," She corrected him with a wave of her hand, her gaze shifting to the boarded up walls of the Shack.

The half-werewolf knit his brows together. "I try not to use words that the other humans wouldn't understand. 'Family' works just as well as 'pack' for them."

The silvery girl had wandered over to run a hand over one of the deeper claw-marks on the wall, probably made by his father. Ted didn't have claws that large. "True, but if you mean pack, then why use any other word? The humans understand the word, just maybe not the same way we do."

"It does unnerve them though--" Ted stopped, turning to face her completely. "What do you mean 'we'?"

Victoire raised a silvery brow and faced him, leaning back against the torn wall. "What do you think I mean by it?" She had a slight smile played across her lips now.

The moon was pulling on his joints. It hurt to move much, but he still crossed his arms as he watched her, "You're a werewolf?" His hair had settled on a murky brown for the moment.

Ted was still surprised when he looked into her eyes and saw the same gold that enveloped his eyes now that the moon was so close at hand.

She grinned at him now, her hand moving in an automatic way as it brushed her hair behind a pincushion-like ear. "Nope, not a full one anyway. Remember my da?"

"Bill Weasley," Teddy eyed her carefully now.

"He was attacked by Greyback, remember? Same bloke that bit your da." She looked practically devilish now.

"Your dad was bit by Greyback when he was human, mine when he was a werewolf." Ted nodded, Harry had told him the tale many times.

"Yep. Makes my da part-werewolf, which makes me part-werewolf too." She grinned widely.

Ted paused. His eyes widened and he stared at her. "Like.. me…" He murmured. "That's why you weren't afraid that night."

She shook her head, silvery red hair flowing with the movement, "I figured you would have figured it out by now, but apparently you're not as quick as… you used to be, Teddy." She had hesitated a moment before referring to their shared past.

Teddy and Victoire had played together tons when they were very little, but Ted remembered only a few times when they were five and completely inseparable. "And then you went to France…" He finished his thoughts aloud, knowing she was having the same ones.

Victoire sighed, "We didn't just go to France. We went _everywhere_. Da thought it was good for our education. Ma mère thought it was lovely to see the world. In the end though, I just wanted to go back to the Grimmauld Place backyard and play with you, to see Dominique have fun with Freddie and Roxanne, to watch Louis pull Molly's hair and laugh with James." She smiled ruefully, "I don't think my parents ever counted in the fact we were still just children who wanted to play with other children rather then climb to the very top of the pyramids."

Ted uncrossed his arms, trying to relax his body as the pull of the moon became stronger. He didn't look at her, but smiled lightly, "Well after you left, I was charged to babysit all of them. So there was little play going on for me. I was actually happy when I started that Muggle school Harry wanted me to try."

Victoire lifted her face up, as if she could see through the ceiling to the sky, "Won't be long now." She muttered, then looked down at him, "Well I figured now would be a good time to make up for all the time I missed out with my pack of cousins and my good friend." She smiled on the last part as her eyes danced with golden light.

A smile pulled on his face and spread across slowly, matching her expression of moon-given amusement.

Then the moon pulled strong enough to re-mold his bones and the world lost its sense as the wolf took over everything that made him who he was.

But… for once, he wasn't afraid.

A few weeks into third year, a new entry into Teddy's year drew up such disarray that people even stopped their shunning of the half-werewolf.

The girl had transferred from another wizarding school, rumor had it that the incident that caused the transfer had nearly taken her life.

She had a special Sorting, even though the Hat was very disgruntled by this interruption to its usual planning of its next year's song. Everyone was surprised to see her Sorted into Hufflepuff.

However, her story had preceded her, and even the kindly Hufflepuffs shied away when she sat down at their table.

Daughter of the Death Eater Yaxley and the convicted ex-ministry worker, ex-professor Dolores Umbridge, she had little to hold to her heritage but Dark Arts. Even the professors seemed wary of her, seeing the bits of her mother's strict mask in her soft cheeks, her father in her straw-colored hair.

Teddy watched her with a certain morbid fascination, as did many of the other students, he supposed. Even Rennie couldn't help but be interested in this one girl who had caused such an upheaval in the usually stubborn students of Hogwarts.

She had withdrawn into herself since coming to the school. In many classes, she sat alone, even if the lesson called for partners. Other students preferred tripling up instead of being placed with her. She never raised her hand to offer an answer, and rarely even spoke unless the professor called on her directly, which was rare. The professors usually ignored her. Professor Longbottom seemed terrified of her, sending her on errands rather then deal with her throughout the class.

It wasn't until McGonagall approached him that he really ever thought of the girl as anything more then a curiosity.

"Mr. Lupin, I understand that you have been having trouble with the students, but I ask that you please take up the tutoring of Miss Yaxley. Maybe your experience with the other students will help her deal with her own troubles."

Ted opened his mouth, staring up at the strictly dressed woman, her spectacles glinting slightly in the dim candle light of her office. After a moment, he shut his mouth, swallowed and tried again, "Me, Headmistress? Is that wise?"

McGonagall folded her hands into a steeple, "I believe it is the wisest choice. You are top in your class for Defense," She looked at him, her eyes gleaming for a moment, a pride in her eyes that reminded him of Harry when Teddy had managed to finally produce a full Patronus under his Godfather's instruction over the summer (carefully hidden from the Trace and from Aunt Ginny, of course). The Headmistress continued after a slight pause, her eyes reminding him that they weren't here for pleasantries, "Which Miss Yaxley is nearly failing. I'm sure you can at least help her up from getting a 'T' on her exam, at least."

She didn't seem to want to look at him now, her eyes were stuck on two portraits behind her desk: one of an old, wise-looking wizard with twinkling blue eyes behind half-moon spectacles, the other of a greasy-haired, annoyed-looking wizard with glinting black eyes. "I trust you both to help one another through these hard and confusing years as we rebuild and heal." Her eyes grew hard as she turned back to face him, "I've set aside a classroom on the third floor for you both after dinner on Wednesdays. I suggest that you both are… quiet about meeting with each other, for the rest of the student body isn't as forgiving."

Ted opened his mouth to protest, but McGonagall waved him off, "Off with you, Mr. Lupin. I hope I don't have to see you here before I call for you again."

Swallowing his words, Teddy set off towards the door, barely hearing McGonagall's sigh as the door closed, "Dumbledore, how did you ever deal with all this?"

Rennie wasn't too happy about the whole situation. Especially about the fact he wasn't allowed to help.

"Teddy, but McGoogles never said I couldn't come with you."

"Double negatives, Rennie," Ted corrected as he gestured with his fork, the meat on it nearly flinging itself into Rennie's face. "She wanted me to do this quietly."

Rennie frowned, "That's not fair. You can't jus' go 'lone, she's…" He appeared to scramble for words.

"She's just a girl." Ted pointed out, his voice steady despite the nervous butterflies in his stomach.

The dark-haired boy knit his brows together, "But her mum's—"

"—In Azkaban," Ted cut him off, adding more carefully, "Plus, I'm… you know."

Renald lowered his gaze to his toast, which he was stabbing absentmindedly with his fork. "Still," he muttered, "Be careful. Jus' 'cause you're a werewo'f, do'sn't mean you're invinc'ble. Ya need to watch out fo' yourself, Teddy." Ren's speech always grew worse when he was nervous or upset.

"I deal with one little girl, I'm sure." Ted muttered, not really wanting to go alone in the first place.

Suddenly his friend's eyes lit up with mischievous ideas. "I'm sur' you can, but yanno, it'd be easier if I were there… Just n'case som'thing went wrong, right?" Rennie's smile curved slightly more and Ted couldn't help but catch on.

"You have a plan then?" Teddy grinned at him. He should have known his best friend wouldn't leave him hanging.

"That I do." Rennie grinned back.

The first night was… interesting.

Teddy had all of his Defense Against the Dark Arts textbooks stuffed into a messenger bag that probably would have weighed him down before, but now, with the werewolf blood infecting him more and more as the moon's pull grew stronger, the bag was like carrying one or two of the books, instead of five.

He was still getting used to that effect, which is why he startled so much when he moved too fast and the bag nearly took down the door before his shoulder nudged it open.

Ted heard a replying squeak inside the room as the girl he was there tutor had jumped also.

"Oops." He muttered and grabbed the door before it flung itself into the wall. "Sorry."

The girl behind the door just stared at him. Her hazel eyes wide like a rabbit.

"Not you—the door. Sorry—to you too, I mean." Ted stumbled over his words before forcing himself to shut his mouth and ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, start over." He closed his eyes for a moment, hoping she didn't think he was insane. "Sorry, I'm Ted Lupin. I'm here to be your tutor." He held out his hand to her.

She just stared at the extended hand.

"Um," He began to drop the gesture.

She seemed to shake herself, than quickly, she darted out and grabbed his hand in her much smaller one. "Sor-Sorry." She murmured in a soft voice, "I'm Margaret Yaxley." She gave him a small, obviously forced, and shaky smile, "My foster mum calls me Mary though." Then she quickly dropped his hand, as if afraid to touch it a second longer, and withdrew to a desk nearby.

This was not really what he had expected.

Ted's eyes snapped to the teacher's desk, where Rennie was huddled underneath, probably watching and listening to them. Just incase.

"Your friend has been very quiet. Is he shy?" A soft voice broke through Teddy's thoughts.

His eyes (currently green with the usual flecks of gold) connected with hers. His mouth made a silent 'Oh' at her frightened but curious expression. There was nothing in her face that was dangerous or even the slightest bit angry.

If she was an actor, she was a good one.

"My friend?" Ted tried to play dumb.

"The one under the desk." Mary hunched her shoulders slightly, "Sorry, was that part of the lesson for later?"

She was earnest, he realized. Then he laughed, his nervous energy and doubt floating away at the honest, rabbit-like look on her gentle face. She wasn't the prettiest girl ever, but she wasn't ugly. She had a certain look about her that softened everything about her features and made her lovely.

"Heh, sorry, no. That's just Ren—erm, Renald Wood." Ted gave the desk what was meant to be a gentle kick, but somehow ended up denting the metal thing. "Renald will be assisting me today."

"Ow. Teddy, didja hafta—… Oh hullo there." Rennie crawled out from under the desk, rubbing his head absentmindedly as he turned his blue eyes on Mary.

"Hello," Mary shifted her rabbit-stare from one boy to the next. She seemed tensed like a bird ready to bolt at any sign of attack, but curious enough to stick around.

"Rennie, this is _Mary_. You're assisting me today." Ted elbowed his friend in the side, making sure the boy was paying attention before muttering so she wouldn't hear, "Don't do anything stupid."

Rennie seemed to stiffen slightly like a dog pointing at the danger, then relaxed slightly when he saw Ted's expression. "Hi Mary. Nice ta meet you." He murmured with a small polite smile.

Mary's response was an answering smile twice as big.

Ted saw Rennie's smile warm slightly at this and figured that if the little Mary had some sort of spell on them, at least they would suffer it together.

The half-werewolf clapped his hands together, pulling his lesson plans out of the bag he had brought, "Alright, let's get started then."

After that Mary had seen it fit to sit with them at lunch.

Ted had been sure the others had been keeping a lot of distance before… now there was space for nearly five people to sit between their small group and the larger bunch of Gryffindors.

Rumors flew about Dark Creatures and Death Eaters.

Unsurprisingly, most of the school ignored Rennie's involvement. Ever since he had joined the Quidditch team and helped Gryffindor to find their way back to the top. Gryffindor's team especially had been neglected in the years following the Second War, since most of the students were too busy becoming Aurors to play Quidditch. After returning to the top, the Quidditch team had adored Rennie and often would stomp out any nasty rumors about him.

They didn't extend this protection to Rennie's friends though.

Or at least, they hadn't before.

It took a particularly nasty rumor about Mary brainwashing Renald and Teddy into following her and becoming slaves to her every whim (the truly nasty part ended up being about _what_ those whims were) to get a reaction.

One day at dinner, the whole Gryffindor Quidditch team strode up and all sat down in the wide space left around Ted, Mary, and Rennie. The Quidditch players plopped themselves down purposefully next to them and began chatting away as if nothing was amiss.

Mary looked completely terrified but held still like a tense wire, watching the older students crowd around her with her large eyes.

Teddy shifted nervously on the bench, unsure of what this meant, but then he caught Rennie's eye—the other boy looked practically relieved. That got Ted to relax and Mary followed his lead, slowly unwinding herself and smiling slightly.

By the end of dinner, they had all been drawn into friendly conversation by the team and were able to forget that the rest of the Hall was watching them with something akin to curious fear.

The next day, Victoire, her friend Abby, and Dominique all sat next to Teddy, Rennie, and Mary as well.

Dominique and Mary got along very well, not too surprising as they were both Hufflepuffs at the Gryffindor table.

Ted shot Victoire a grateful look, and she smiled back.

They had yet to talk much outside of the full moons, but he still considered her a friend.

_Hullo Teddy,_

_There's nothing wrong with wanting to remember things from your childhood. Personally, I'm just glad you had a childhood worth remembering, mine certainly wasn't anything I want to recall in any shape or form. So, here are a few notes about a couple of your playdates with other children when you were little (I got Ginny and Hermione to help me a bit with remembering, I'm sure you don't mind):_

_When you were three, you used to play with a little boy named Jerry Bobs at the Muggle daycare I convinced your grandmother sent you to. I remember a particular day when I came to pick you up after my Auror Bootcamp (you remember stories I told you about the bruises I used to have after those days?) and you had run up to me with your arms flailing and your nose running._

_When I asked what was wrong, you babbled something about Timmy and a well (serves me right for letting you watch the old Muggle telly) and led me to Jerry, who was sprawled out on the ground with a scraped knee._

_You were so worried, that you insisted I "maggie" him up right there. I told you to cover Jerry's eyes while I pulled out my wand and made use of a quick healing spell. After you were certain he was fine, you both were underfoot again, dashing about the playground like nothing had been ever wrong._

_I think you two invented a game once that was a blotched version of the American Muggle game of "Cowboys and Indians"; only you called it "Order and Voldies". I don't think Ron would ever stop laughing after you explained it to him._

_Of course, you always managed to cohere the Muggle boys into being the "Voldies" while you and Jerry were the "Order" and all you did was run around chasing one another with sticks._

_There was also Aislin Murdock, that nice Irish wizarding girl who you claimed you were going to marry for awhile._

_She lived in your neighborhood and you two would set off on all sorts of adventures during the days you weren't at the daycare. You'll have to get Andromeda to tell you more about her though. I never properly got to know her, since she was always so shy around me—being famous does have its down sides after all. I think your grandmother told me once about you two managing to set a whole flock of purple chickens lose in the streets of London. You were grounded for that stunt, since some Muggles had ended up caught in the crossfire when the chickens began to breathe fire and the Ministry had to use Memory Charms on a load of them._

_Andromeda had you under lock and key for quite a few weeks for that. Personally, I thought it was hilarious—but that's exactly why a nineteen year old shouldn't be raising children._

_Your grandmother only let you out for the Hols, because she couldn't let poor, sweet, little Victoire be punished for your misgivings._

_You were so sweet to Victoire that year that Andromeda lifted your punishment after that. Of course, as soon as you heard that you were back to pulling her hair and throwing frogs at her._

… _But she threw frogs back, so we figured it was only fair._

_You and she were joined at the hip for a while after that. She visited 'Drom's house so many times that summer that Aislin threw a hissy fit because you wouldn't play with her as much as you played with Victoire. You, being the peace-keeper you have always been, managed to smooth it over with a pair of ice lollies._

_I remember that because I had been sitting on the porch, watching at the time. You came over and demanded money for the ice cream van that was passing through. It was a Muggle van though, and I didn't have enough for three ice lollies. I gave it all to you and watched you buy two lollies and give one to each girl._

_Always the womanizer, even at that age, you little blighter._

_After that, Aislin and Victoire had been friends and you three made a devilish trio._

_I can safely say that those street lights didn't know what hit them. The Aurors were stuck untangling those stupid things for days. I don't have any idea how you found that trick in the library, even when we had made sure to hide those books from you and your little maraudering friends. When Andromeda tried to ground you again, she found that Aislin was sneaking you out when Victoire came for tea._

_You should have seen that woman's expression. I'd never seen such a war between anger and pride on a face before._

_In the end, you got away with it, because Andromeda thought it was a very well conceived plan. After that, you were allowed to get away with sneaking out of your 'grounded' status, as long as Andromeda thought the plan was well thought out. It really brought out the rule-breaker in you for awhile._

_Of course, you were only about five when Victoire left. Aislin and you were completely miserable for at least a month. After that, I think you kind of forgot her, in the way little kids block out things that they dislike. You still asked about her at the family gatherings though, but you seemed to enjoy babysitting your other cousins anyway._

_Do you still keep in contact with Aislin? I know she went to Beauxbatons, after her family moved away, but I always thought you two were rather adorable together. Ron and I had a bet going for a bit about how long it would take you to marry her._

_Speaking of Ron, everyone here is great. You should see James now. I think untangling street lights is the least of our worries with him. Your brother, Louis and he are inseparable, and have a rivalry going with Molly and Lucy, you remember Percy's two, right? Well after Mol' and Luc' turned the boys' hair pink, James and Louis got back by sneaking crickets into the girls' beds when they slept over._

_So basically, the house is a wreck. Gin and I are holding out fine. Hope you're doing well with your studies._

_Love, Harry_

Teddy's fingers crumbled the edges of the letter as he read it. "Aislin…" he murmured, a frown drawing between his brows.

Rennie edged over from his seat on the couch near the fireplace, where he'd been chatting with Mary. She too looked curious, but then again she always seemed to have a look of curiosity mixed with fear no matter what was going on.

They had holed up in the Hufflepuff common room tonight, since the Hufflepuffs tended up be less loud and confrontational then the Gryffindors. And since tonight was after a full moon, they all knew Ted needed the comfort and quiet of a near-empty common room with large chairs and a warm fire. Even if it was yellow.

"Who are you reading about?" Mary asked, and both boys turned to look at her and her lack of tact, then Mary and Rennie turned on Ted with bright curious eyes.

Ted's eyes drifted from the letter to his friends, as if slowly pulling himself from the words. "It's just a letter from my Godfather. Something I asked him about."

"Your Godfather?" Mary's eyebrows knitted together, "Harry Potter?"

The half-werewolf gritted his teeth. They had avoided talk of his 'extended' family since Mary had joined them for the same reason they avoided talking of Mary's mother and father. "Yes. It's just some stuff from my childhood, I thought it'd be nice to hear some of the stuff I can't remember." He said, hoping to avoid the topic still.

"Ah, yea. It's nice that your Godfather has stories to tell you. I suppose that I would have to look into my foster-care file for anything I couldn't remember." Mary settled her eyes back on the book she had on her lap. She didn't seem the slightest upset about her situation. It was strange of her.

Rennie tilted his head, looking from her to Ted. "You okay, Mary?"

Her head shot up again, blinking slightly as if she had been too busy reading to remember she was talking to someone. "Erm? Oh, I'm fine." She said, sounding like her normal self, except that she said it all a bit too fast to be believable.

Teddy shot Ren a questioning look before turning back to their friend. "Mary? Is there something going on with your foster family?"

The usually oddly calm little girl suddenly launched herself at Rennie, sobbing helplessly. Rennie had his arms in the air, as if to grab her, but slowly settling them around her, holding her as she cried.

Mary cried as she did everything: strangely. She sucked in large breaths in between exploding sobs of wet salty tears and gasping wails. Rennie glanced at Ted over her shoulder. Ted shrugged helplessly. Girls weren't something he knew much about.

"They… they want to send… send me away... _**again**_!" She choked out between her sobbing explosions.

Ted frowned, "What? Why would they do that? They're your family."

Mary picked up her head slightly, wiping helplessly at her wet, bloodshot eyes. "They're the fifth one I've been sent to… but if I get sent away again, I might have to go to a different school." She stared at the floor, her whole body withdrawing and curling around itself.

Rennie grabbed her shoulders, and jerked her slightly. Her face snapped up to look at him. Ted put a hand on her arm, a determined look on his face. "We won't let that happen. You're staying here with us." Ted said firmly.

Mary's eyes seemed to explode with salty water again, and Rennie held her close. He may not be good with words like Teddy, but he could comfort her like this. Blue eyes caught Ted's as Ren rubbed small circles on her back. Rennie's eyes held a question that Ted couldn't answer: _How?_


End file.
